American Repertory Theater News

Tom Waits has been painting an Americana landscape with his music over the past three decades. Much of his lyrics weave fictional individuals through nonfictional settings in the same 'dirty reality' style American short-story writer Raymond Carver and poet Charles Bukowski displayed in their works. The characters, the lives they lead, the dialogs, the monologs all within Waits vast encyclopedia of songs lend themselves to a theatrical setting where all are could be brought to life.

Abingdon Theatre Company (Tony Speciale, Artistic Director; Denise Dickens, Producing Director) presents the final main stage production of its 25th Anniversary season, Fruit Trilogy, a new trilogy of plays by Tony Award winner Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues, In the Body of the World) and directed by Mark Rosenblatt

Arena Stage announces the full cast and creative team for Dave. By Thomas Meehan, Nell Benjaminand Tom Kitt, Dave is inspired by the Academy Award-nominated American political comedy film.

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) second stage and club-theater venue on the fringe of Harvard Square, announces events to be presented at OBERON during May and June 2018-including OBERON Presents, Glowberon, usual suspects, and more.

Lookingglass Theatre Company concludes its 30th Anniversary season with the world premiere of 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas adapted by David Kersnar and Althos Low, from the books by Jules Verne, directed by Ensemble Member David Kersnar. 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas runs May 23 - August 19, 2018 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is Saturday, June 2, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) and Carr Center for Human Rights Policy will present the final Resistance Mic! of the 2017/18 season on Wednesday, May 16 at 8PM at OBERON, the A.R.T.'s club space for cutting-edge performance. The Resistance Mic! series of five intimate performances co-hosted by director of the A.R.T. of Human Rights initiative Timothy Patrick McCarthy and celebrated Boston author Sarah Sweeney to celebrate and promote resistance began last November on the first anniversary of the 2016 Presidential Election.

Schimmel Center will present Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Anna Deavere Smith's Obie Award-winning solo performance, Notes From the Field, for one weekend only on Friday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in preparation for a two week run at the Royal Court in London. The production is directed by Leonard Foglia and features original music composed and performed by bassist Marcus Shelby who joins Ms. Smith on stage.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, is pleased to announce that it has received a 3-year grant of $900,000 from the Barr Foundation. The Foundation's award from its new ArtsAmplified initiative will support A.R.T.'s commissioning and development of new work, activities central to its role as a vital public institution operating from its two theaters in Harvard Square and throughout Greater Boston. The deepening of staff capacity, expansion of local partnerships, and preparation of world premiere productions will also be supported by the grant.

The Geffen Playhouse today announced the full cast for its world premiere production of Amanda Peet's Our Very Own Carlin McCullough. The play will feature Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife, True Detective) as Cyn, Abigail Dylan Harrison (The Affair) as Carlin at 10, Caroline Heffernan as Carlin at 17, Tyee Tilghman as Saleef and Joe Tippett (Rise, Broadway's Waitress) as Jay. Tyne Rafaeli (Geffen's Ironbound, Actually) will direct.

Strathmore and Beth Morrison Projects will present the world premiere of Iron & Coal, a multi-media rock opera by composer/lyricist Jeremy Schonfeld and director Kevin Newbury, in the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4, 2018 at 8 p.m.

Out of the Box Theatrics (OOTB) will host a special forum on Monday, April 30 to support the theater's commitment to providing a platform for up and coming artists.

The Old Globe's 2017-2018 Season continues with today's announcement of the complete cast and creative team for the Southern California debut of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Ursula Rani Sarma's sweeping and deeply moving theatrical production based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner).

Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT) presents Boston Theater Marathon XX, featuring 50 ten-minute plays, written by 51 New England playwrights, and produced by 50 New England theatres in ten hours.

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, presents Buried Child, written by Sam Shepard and directed by WT Resident Director Kimberly Senior. Buried Child runs May 9 - June 17, 2018 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is Wednesday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Two dozen nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association for the 36th Annual Elliot Norton Awards, celebrating achievement in Boston theatre.

Tom Waits has been painting an Americana landscape with his music over the past three decades. Much of his lyrics weave fictional individuals through nonfictional settings in the same 'dirty reality' style American short-story writer Raymond Carver and poet Charles Bukowski displayed in their works. The characters, the lives they lead, the dialogs, the monologs all within Waits vast encyclopedia of songs lend themselves to a theatrical setting where all are could be brought to life. 

A soulful retelling of L. Frank Baum's beloved The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz combines fairy-tale glamour with street smarts to make a classic fantasy sparkle for today.  And our directors and choreographer will bring a blast of New Orleans Creole magic to this production!  Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, The Wiz ingeniously mixes rock, gospel, soul, and jazz, and features hits like 'Ease on Down the Road,' 'A Brand New Day,' and 'Home.'

CABARET has stood the test of time and Moonbox Productions puts a time stamp on the 1966 musical that brings it into the here and now. Director/choreographer Rachel Bertone and Music Director Dan Rodriguez whip a kick-ass kick line of high steppers into a precision machine to evoke the seedy Kit Kat Klub, and triple threat performers Aimee Doherty, Phil Tayler, and Jared Troilo lead an outstanding cast.

En Garde Arts presents Asiimwe Deborah Kawe and Sean Christopher Lewis's Red Hills, returning the company to its trailblazing site-specific origins with a work that speaks "precisely to its time" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). This haunting two-person play follows an American and a Rwandan who, as teens during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, shared a chance encounter that changed them forever. En Garde, with director Katie Pearl, has adapted Red Hills to a New York-specific space: an empty floor in a downtown office building one block from Wall Street, where it will run from June 6-July 1.

Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning singer and actress Audra McDonald returned for her 7th appearance with the Celebrity Series on Friday night at Symphony Hall. Accompanied by a virtuoso trio of Brian Hertz on piano, Mark Vanderpoel on bass, and Gene Lewin on drums, she held the audience in her sway for close to 100 sublime, uninterrupted minutes.